The Incarnation of Jesus - the Christ - changes everything, for everyone, for all time. The Trinitarian LOVE and LIFE of God is what we are all made of, to LOVE is to LIVE, to KNOW GOD, to belong to EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE! This blog will fill in the details which I can document thus far ....

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Now
that the entire Easter Season has concluded (last Sunday with the Feast of
Pentecost), the Church today looks back on the past seven
months. From the first Sunday of Advent until last Sunday in our liturgies we
have seen dramatized and played out for us once again for our consideration the
work of the Most Blessed Trinity: the
love of God the Father, who sent the Son into the world to be born among us,
and to live and die and rise for our salvation: for the forgiveness of our
sins!

And then, in order to preserve
the life of the Son on earth for all ages: the
Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit: to “blow where he wills,” to inform
and guide and direct the community of believers in the Divine Son and his
eternal Father, in their personal lives of conversion from the world, and
indeed the transformation of the whole world into the glorious kingdom of God,
as it is meant to be transfigured and transformed.

And so this is what we
celebrate today the activity of the
Trinity on our behalf!

But we also need to back up
even further and look at this Triune God
as He is in Himself: for if this Trinity of Persons comes to dwell within
us by our initiation into the Church by Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist:
who is this Trinity? who is God in Himself?

Though it can easily be
stated: it cannot ever in this life or even in the next be fully understood:
the mystery of God in his Threefold Oneness (that will always remain a mystery)
may inadequately be described as this: “the uncreated God, who simply is, loves
himself, sees himself, and gives himself infinitely to an image of himself who
is the Word, a second Person; in effect God utters one Word and that word is
WORD, it is Son, it is everything that the Father is; and then in an ongoing
process the Son and his Father look at one another and they sigh: they breath out a breath
of love for one another: and that breath of loveis the Holy Spirit: the created manifestation of the love of the
Father and the Son!

This is God’s own life that He
lives all in Himself!” And it is this God, Three
Persons bound together with a chain of love into One Being, who entirely at
their own discretion chose to invite other persons to enter into their life.
God did not have to create anything because he needs nothing! But since he is
not only an infinite dynamic of loving, he is also goodness itself, and beauty
and truth; and so he would just naturally want to go outside himself and share
himself with others who are in some sense like
him: that is why he created the entire universe as a backdrop and then
mankind to be the highest form of his earthly creatures – creating them persons (in his image); giving them intellect and free will so that they could freely choose to fall in love with him!

The rest is up to us: for
those who have already or who want to fall in love with God – he has provided
the fullness of truth, beauty, goodness and love in the Catholic Church –
though lesser degrees exist outside of it – with its Word, with its Sacraments,
with its Works of Charity done out of love for him; the Church invites
everyone, everywhere to accept God’s call to a very intimate life of love with
him and everyone else who likewise believes.

In
summary: together we are all – all on the face of the earth – meant to cry out:
Abba, Father; Jesus, Lord; Spirit,
Comforter!

May it be so today and every
day for more and more people until the Kingdom
of God emerges fully in all its majesty, beauty and peacefulness here and
hereafter!

Friday, May 29, 2015

We have two power
packed readings at mass today. In the first reading from the Book of Sirach we see how God encourages
all to be “godly people” – so that they
and their descendants may be blessed and all they have need of. Those who
do God’s will are the ones who are blessed to the hundredth generation.

The gospel passage from St. Mark seems to be a compilation of several
pointed lessons. Jesus first curses a fig tree which has green leaves but no
fruit (because it was not yet time for fruit) – what was going on there? At the
time, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be killed by his own people – maybe he
was just having a bad day, and was reflecting in that tree the barrenness of the
fruit that should have been there if the tree was more properly cultivated and
fertilized with prayer, sacrifice and almsgiving. Later in the passage he
connects faith (which can move mountains
from their very spot to be cast into the sea – through accompanying prayer)
with asking for what we need – asking for what God wants for us – asking for
what the Holy Spirit will surely give us – it will be done immediately. It is
not what we want that God gives us – but what he already knows what is best for
us that counts.

Now the caveat he puts on this faith/prayer deal is that we must be in
the “state of grace” – the “state of being reconciled with our brothers and
sisters” – we must “forgive anyone against whom we have a grievance, so that
our heavenly Father may in turn forgive our own transgressions.”

Yes, these are power packed readings – giving us much to think about
today – may we pause often during the day and do just that. Any day that does
not include in it pausing to reflect on what was contemplated in the Liturgy of
the Word at mass that day is pretty much a wasted day – a day that runs out of
steam, and quality and effectiveness to do really good works.

Let us not waste our energies – God
has chosen us from the world to go and bear fig fruit that will last – may we
not let him down. Amen.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

We have two
beautiful readings today at this mass. In the first reading from the Book of Sirach we see how it is God’s will
that his glory fills all the earth;
and not only his glory, but his will and his ways. When “nothing is added nor
taken away” from that will, then everything works out amazingly well. How beautiful are all God’s works! It is
up to us to stay tuned in to his will so that we get all the benefits thereof.

And the capital
manifestation of his will is in the duty of our vocations that he gives us – whether in the religious or secular
state. When we place God’s will and way first – and all that that entails –
then all will go peacefully well.

The gospel passage is about the blind man who calls after Jesus, so to
obtain a cure of his blindness. Jesus engages the man, and encourages him to
speak up, name his request, and then he promptly and lovingly gives the man
what he desires: clear vision and sight. This passage can also be
applied to all who are spiritually blind, or who become blind in time due to “spiritual
cataracts and glaucoma” – fervent courageous pray to the Lord Jesus can bring
about the same result: clear spiritual vision and insight: and this is much
more important than any amount of physical sightedness.

May we today cry out with persistence and joy to God, who can give us
what we need at each moment – if we keep all of our spiritual priorities in
line – because this is his first concern for us as his children.

I am the light of the word, says the
Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

In the name of
Jesus many mighty deeds
can indeed be done – and these should not be astonishing to behold for anyone
in the world. Those having faith take delight in them because they confirm this
belief, those without faith have reason to pause and consider the true origin
and source of the work: can it be anything other than the powerful “finger of
God” at work, which is none other than the Holy Spirit himself?

God can do whatever he wants, to whomever he wants, whenever he wants:
and he loves to do it as the result of confident, trustful prayer for such and
such an intention! Our prayers are always heard by God, and always answered in
his way and time – which, of course, may be different than our own plans.

As difficult as it may seem, I must begin to trust fully in the Divine
Artist who can see the entire canvas he is painting with the interactions he
has with all his people and family everywhere in the world.

The first reading today from the great book of Sirach tells us that those
who seek for wisdom, seek life
(actually they are seeking Jesus who is wisdom
and life, who would come centuries later), but to possess her takes discipline and trust: God entrusts to us
his secrets for right living – but then we must do what it entails or we will
lose the wisdom, lose the source, lose the life. May we not abandon wisdom
today: let us encounter Jesus, encounter the secrets he has to share with us,
and put his counsel into practice immediately! Why wait?

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

St
Philip Neri was one of the noble line of saints raised up in the
sixteenth century to console and bless His Church. After a pious childhood, the Spirit led
Philip away from Florence and showed him the world that he might freely
renounce it, led him to Rome, molded him in mind and heart and will, and then
as by a second Pentecost, came down in visible form and filled his soul with
light and peace and joy.

He wanted to go to India, but
God wanted him to stay rather in Rome. There, he went on simply from day to day, drawing souls to Jesus, showing
them acts of charity, and binding them together by cheerful devotions, and thus
the Oratory he founded grew up and all Rome was pervaded and transformed by its
spirit. His life was a continuous miracle, he was nearly every day in a state
of ecstasy. He read the hearts of men, foretold the future, and knew their
eternal destiny. His touch gave health of body, his very look called souls in
trouble and drove away temptations. He was light-hearted, genial and irresistibly
winning: neither insult nor wrong could dim the brightness of his joy.

Philip died in his eightieth
year, in 1595, and bears the grand title: Apostle of Rome.

The gospel passage today
speaks of Jesus’ desire for his followers to be united in love of him, his Father and one another. He calls each of
us, in some way, to manifest that love, as he did St. Philip Neri. It is easy
when we get out of the way and let the Spirit lead us, wherever he would have
us be, fill us with his essence of joy, and place people in our path to spread
it to. It can’t get easier than that!

Monday, May 25, 2015

St Bede was born
in 672 in Wearmouth, England, at a time when England was completely Christianized. Raised from the age
of seven in the abbey of Saints Peter and Paul at Wearmouth, he lived there the
rest of his life. He himself became a Benedictine monk and a priest, ordained
in 702. Bede was very learned and prolific in his writing and teaching, so much
so that he was considered “venerable” in the ordinary sense by the world at
large.

He wrote about history, rhetoric, mathematics, music, astronomy, poetry,
grammar, philosophy, hagiography, homiletics and Bible commentary. He was known
as the most learned man of his day. The central theme of Bede’s “History of the
Church” is of the Church using the power of its spiritual, doctrinal, and
cultural unity to stamp out violence and barbarism, a plan that could very well
be put into use in this our own day and age. Our knowledge of England before
the 8th century is mainly the result of Bede’s writing. He died of
natural causes on May 25, 735, and was canonized and declared a Doctor of the
Church on November 13, 1899 by Pope Leo XIII.

He is the patron saint of lectors.

St Bede the Venerable, as so many other evangelizing saints in the Church
stressed the necessity of putting all of one’s eggs into one basket, the basket
of full faith and belief in Jesus and his words and works, as direct
communications and links with God himself. With the faith and belief, no matter
what comes our way, the Gospel, Jesus, the Church, the Truth, Life will
prevail! May we cooperate and do our part this day as members of Christ’s Body,
the Church, for whom he gave up his life.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life,
you have the words of everlasting life.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Today
the entire Church celebrates its birth, and commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit with great
power on Mary and the Apostles; and into the hearts of all those who would
believe because of their preaching and teaching and be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit.

On Ascension Thursday (10 days
ago) Jesus announced that another Advocate,
the Gift of the Father (and himself)
would arrive soon, so that Truth may be firmly rooted now in the world (in the hearts
and consciences of the faithful – and everyone else), and that there is now to
be achieved no other goal than to experience the peace that the world cannot give: the peace which is the Spirit, the peace which is the forgiveness of sins, the peace
and life which continues to flow forth from
the pierced and Sacred heart of the crucified Christ.

But in order for there to be
peace: we must seek after it, ask for it,and be ready to receive it, as it wants to fall upon us – not according to our own prescriptions, but rather
God’s. And when it falls on us, it falls like
the dewfall, to invigorate us, refresh us, enflame us and move us to ministries of service among
the community of believers: and as St. Paul tells the Corinthians there are many different gifts and ministries but the one
and same Spirit working through all of them to build one Church to glorify God
who is one. All can now be one in Christ: from the many lands, from the
many nations. “Jesus is Lord” – the
One Lord - is the cry of the true Christian; it pierces the darkness of the
world like a bolt of lightning – and by it the world can see where it is going,
and be renewed from deep down inside –
for truth turns everything upside down!

What a spectacle it must have
been for those gathered from many nations
in Jerusalem to hear these twelve men, all Galileans, speaking to them in their own language – the one word of Praise,
the one word of Victory, the one word of Hope – telling them that the Crucified
is very much alive, and that forgiveness of sins must be preached to the ends
of the earth! It is such a tragedy in life to carry around baggage and guilt
that doesn’t really need to be carried anymore – all are invited to be free:
free to be who God intended them to be all along – his children, his helpers in
building a kingdom of love!

And so, it is up to us who
have been baptized, confirmed and ordained to recommit ourselves today to our
membership in such an astounding organism, and invite others to join it: the
living Body of the Risen Christ; the Mystical Body of Love and Peace; and may
our efforts in this coming “work season” of the “green-vestmented time of the
Church year” be fragrant, fruitful, and above all, full of the blessings of God
upon us!

Holy Spirit,

give us virtue’s sure reward;

give us your salvation, Lord;

give us joys that never end. Amen.

ALLELUIA!

Dear Heavenly
Father,

As we remember
those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we think of how
they have followed in the footsteps of your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Please hold our currently deployed service men and women in your strong arms.
Cover them with your sheltering grace and presence as they stand in the gap for
our protection.

May all the
members of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and may
they trust in the Lord's mighty power to accomplish each task done according to
his Will.

We also remember
today all of the faithful departed, and pay them respect where they lie in wait
for the resurrection of the dead. We “decorate” their resting places with
flowers and prayers, if only in our minds and hearts. We hope one day to join
them and share an amazing eternal life of blessedness and peace with them.

May our Holiday
Celebration be one of Life, and joyful anticipation of the good things to come.
We make our prayers, in Jesus’ name, who is our Lord, our Brother and our
Friend.

Amen.

Friday, May 22, 2015

St
Peter’s confession of faith, and then his willingness to feed the flock of God
in all charity is the rock-like foundation of the Catholic
Church – this Jesus clarifies just before he ascends into heaven. “Belief, followed
by acts of love done out of obedience to Christ’s command for us to take care
of one another” is what we are all about!

Peter professed his faith by
saying “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God;” and he three-times
proclaimed in front of the other apostles: “you know that I love you Lord, yes,
I will feed your sheep and tend your lambs” – inferring not only himself but
also his descendants in the apostolic line of succession.

The true measure of a pope,
bishop or priest of today is his willingness to base everything he does on
“faith and charity” – otherwise he is a hypocritical puff of smoke and a pious
fraud – and no priest at all.

In this unstable and
challenging day and age, no less than the first century, the clergy and the
laity alike are called upon to witness to the Truth of the Catholic Church –
filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit and
willing to go to the ends of the earth
at the very most, but much more easily, but again much more difficultly, to the
person sitting next to you. The new kingdom of God begins right here, right now
– and every right here and right now of today!

Come
Holy Spirit – teach us everything we need to know – to
make the real Jesus truly known among the peoples!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

The salt spoken
of in this gospel passage, the
salt with which we are sprinkled, is the fire of the Holy Spirit of good works.
To keep the salt good we must do the works inspired by the Spirit. To say that
this saying does not apply to me, or refuse to do it, is to cut oneself off
from the very dynamic of Christian living, and to invite unrest and discord
into one’s life: the very opposite of peace.

And when we do the works inspired by the Spirit, we must choose to do
them with as much purity of intention as we can possibly do them, not being
antagonistic to anyone, not following the sinful actions and conditions brought
about by the improper use of hands, and feet and eyes. We must use our hands,
go to places and look at only those things which build up the Body of Christ
and help the reign of God to become more real in a very hostile world.

In the first reading from the beloved Book of Sirach – the practical
guide to right living – we are warned not to take credit for anything, or to
presume on God’s mercy in committing misdeeds: he is indeed a God of mercy and
forgiveness, but only for those who are truly and deeply regretful and sorry:
to presume on such mercy may bring undesired results if we forget that God is
also a God of anger and wrath that is justified by obstinate behavior.

Those who truly hope in the Lord and live their lives like they are
trying to be responsible and obedient members of his Kingdom, are the blessed
and the prosperous; may we be among them today!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Bernardine of
Siena was a Friar Minor
who was born in Massa de Carrara, Italy in 1380, and died of natural causes in
Aquila, Italy in 1444. He was a priest, itinerant preacher, and theological
writer. His preaching skills were so great, and the conversions so numerous
that he has become associated with all areas of speaking, advertising and
public relations. He was a renowned peacemaker, in the Franciscan tradition,
who tried to calm feuding clans and factions in the turbulent political world
of the Renaissance. His preaching visits (which would sometimes last for four
hours) would often culminate in mass reconciliations, as listeners were
persuaded to exchange the bacio
di pace, or kiss of peace.
The crowds were so large that they had to be held in the open air, rather than
in a church.

Bernardine was sensitive to the demands of secular life, and tried to
negotiate between Christian ethics and a conflicting code of honor that
stressed retaining face in a public world. He wrote theological works in both
Latin and Italian and established schools of theology for his fellow friars,
insisting that ignorance in a friar was as dangerous as riches. He is known as
well for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus – which he protected, defended
and touted with all his might. It is he who designed the "IHS" emblem surrounded by rays, as if from the sun
(these are the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek) – this emblem was
adopted by the Jesuit community as its logo.

This from a sermon of St. Bernardine:

When a fire is lit to clear a field,
it burns off all the dry and useless weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and
darkness is dispelled, robbers, night-prowlers and burglars hide away. So when
Paul's voice was raised to preach the Gospel to the nations, like a great clap
of thunder in the sky, his preaching was a blazing fire carrying all before it.
It was the sun rising in full glory. Infidelity was consumed by it, false
beliefs fled away, and the truth appeared like a great candle lighting the
whole world with its brilliant flame.

By word of mouth, by letters, by
miracles, and by the example of his own life, Saint Paul bore the name of Jesus wherever he went. He
praised the name of Jesus "at all times," but never more than when
"bearing witness to his faith."

May we with St. Paul, with St. Bernardine and with all the saints in
God's family bear witness to the faith by proclaiming his deeds in our lives,
and uplifting, protecting and professing his precious and glorious Name
wherever we go, whatever we do. AMEN!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The
gospel passage today talks about Jesus
asking his Father to
glorify him – because his hour has come. Jesus has yearned
for this hour of consummation, this hour of suffering, this hour of battle with
the forces of evil – so that the battle could be won, and that the whole world
would come to know that God is love and
that Jesus is Love-made-Visible. Jesus, as Word of God, came from God’s
glory, and now he is asking God to take him back there – but not until after finishing
the task at hand. It would not be easy by any means, but it would be done out
of obedience and out of love.

St. Paul in the first reading
in a parallel fashion knows that his hour too is coming when he will leave his
beloved Ephesians, and they will not see him again until the coming of the
Kingdom in its fullness. For Paul’s part he is eager always to run the race, to finish the work the Lord
Jesus has given him to do in bearing witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.

And Paul, as did Jesus, persisted
with the grace of God. We also are encouraged to do the same – come what may,
as with them – for the power of love is greater than any evil, and the victory
of patience is more profound than any worldly peace.

Come
Holy Spirit – fill the hearts of the faithful – enkindle in us the fire of your
love – and renew the face of the earth.

Monday, May 18, 2015

We
recall today that our first reading remains narrative about post-Pentecost
events: and so today we see Paul going down to Ephesus. Here we have the
classic outline of apostolic ministry presented: ask a leading question: did you receive the Spirit when you became
believers? The classic answer among the worldly is: we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Well then, how were you baptized? With the baptism of
John (an incomplete and non-salvific baptism), although it is a start for
his is a baptism of repentance, but
for those baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus a whole new world opens up and a transfigured person becomes a child of God and heir of heaven.

We then see Paul baptizing
about a dozen of the Ephesians in the name of the Lord Jesus (and his Father
and their Spirit) and the Spirit rushes upon them and they speak in tongues and prophesy and they begin a brand new chapter in
their lives: and the Christian community is firmly established there.

In the gospel passage, now
pre-Pentecost, and even pre-Passion, Jesus says to his Apostles you may think everything is clear to you now
about me and my mission; but wait, shortly you will be thrown into chaos and
confusion – but take heart I have overcome all chaos and confusion: I have overcome
the whole world: and one day when the Spirit finally comes – you will truly
know the entire story – and you will rejoice and you will be my witnesses about
it to the ends of the earth.

We are witnesses in our own
right to the real presence of Jesus – as he comes to us in the depths of our
hearts in silence, as he comes in the Scriptures, as he comes in the Eucharist,
as he comes in good deeds done for love of him!

May we always seek God, by
seeking what he seeks: the poor, the
orphaned, the hungry and the forsaken! And may God bless us all and fill us
with his Holy Spirit!

Friday, May 15, 2015

In
our gospel passage today Jesus addresses the obvious tensive
relationship that he enters into with us by means of his ascension into heaven. He has already explained to the
disciples why it is better that he goes from them, so that the Spirit can come – who will be permanent and will fill
the membership of the Church and guide and direct it until the end of time; but
in a gentle and compassionate kind of way Jesus addresses those who have become
his close friends and confidants: they are sad because of the physical
separation: they will not be able to see
him any more as they are accustomed to. And this is true, not as they are
accustomed to, but they will still be able to see him quite well with the eyes of faith; they will experience
his nearness even better than before because he will now reside deeply within
their hearts.

It
really is the same for us who have become separated from our loved
ones in death. The physical separation can be enormous; but the new presence of
the loved one can be even greater than the previous one: with the eyes of faith; for there truly can be a new awareness, a
new presence, a new closeness, and new experience of being saturated with the
person’s love: this ought very much help in the grieving process that is always
a part of such loss. But just as the ascension of Jesus is rightly considered a
loss and a greater gain, so too can be the loss of our family and friends be
considered the same.

We love you Jesus who has gone
yet stayed; we love you family, friends who have done the same.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Today
we celebrate the great solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. There
is nothing more that Jesus can do now among us, his course is complete, and now
it is all ready to shift into another gear. But what is clear is that he will not abandon us, he will remain in a
newer dimension for all ages until the end of time. This great new
dimension would be the Church, his Mystical Body, that would solidify and be
inaugurated in 10 days’ time when the
Holy Spirit would come upon the Apostles, and they and their successors and
helper priests would make sure that Jesus is really and truly, sacramentally,
present until the end of time.

As for Jesus now – he came, so
to speak, to live our lives – but as
we live them imperfectly, he came to
live them perfectly. In Jesus it is
possible for us to strive for true, real and genuine perfection. And then,
after we have cooperated with all our might, all the days of our lives, he will
share with us the fullness of his merits: newness
of life, risen life, forever in God’s heart, in God’s love.

We thank Jesus with all our
being today for showing us the most challenging pattern of all – that we must
also participate in willingly and lovingly as he did the repeated patterns of
death and resurrection, dying and rising, falling down and getting up that are
a part of the human condition. But now thanks to him death is swallowed up
ultimately, and every fall can be the opportunity for a victorious rising.

You
ascended, Jesus, to the highest heavens today, and are now the joy of the angels and saints,
you are also our hope and our goal, as well as our comforter and our friend,
but most of all you remain our Savior. And you have asked us to take this
message and your presence to the ends of
the earth and to every creature – may we be generous in our response this
day and every one hereafter: for King of
all the earth is God – and everyone needs to know this!

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a
blare of trumpets for the Lord.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The
Church celebrates today the Feast
of Our Lady of Fatima. This feast recalls the appearance of the Blessed
Virgin Mary – who identified herself to three small children in Portugal – as Our Lady of the Rosary. She encouraged
the practice of penance, the daily recitation of the Rosary and devotion to her
own Immaculate Heart. Three secrets were revealed to the children, two of which
had to do with politics and war, and the third having to do with the attempted
assassination of St. Pope John Paul II, May 13, 1981. The pope attributed his
survival to the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima.

What we can take with us from
this celebration is the reminder of the power of Mary’s intercession, which she
knew, and we can ever learn more and more clearly, emanates from the kingship
and the lordship of her Son, Jesus Christ: Savior of the world. Everything
comes from him and leads back to him!

And so, with childlike
confidence, as we have been instructed, may we do daily acts of penance, recite
the rosary, if only in part, and think thoughts of affection towards the
Immaculate Heart of Mary: she is the Mother of God, yes, but she is also our
mother, and she delights in fussing over us, and seeing that we have all that
we need to lead good, holy, Christian lives.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Today
we continue our preparation for the Ascension / Pentecost events. On
Thursday we will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, and ten days after that
Pentecost: the great coming of the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth who will teach us all things, and make them
clear for generations to come. What things?

1) That the world is wrong about sin. The world says that sin is about
breaking rules. But the Spirit will say that it is about unbelief – refusing to believe in Jesus – refusing to believe that
Jesus is the Son of God – come into the world for our salvation.

2) The second thing the world is wrong about is righteousness.
The world says righteousness is about our
trying to get back to God. But the Holy Spirit says that righteousness is about
Jesus going to the Father – and then him taking us with him, when it is our
time and everything is prepared for us.

3) Lastly, the world is wrong about judgment. The
world says that judgment spells doom for
us. But the Holy Spirit says that judgment spells doom for evil.

Therefore, these references to
sin, righteousness and judgment have to do with us only in a passive sense;
they actually have everything to do with the Messianic activity of Jesus
Christ, Son of God in the primary sense – on
our behalf, for us and for our salvation. We become winners as a gracious
gift and not by our own merits by any stretch of the imagination.

The story of how all this
works is the “good news,” the gospel that Paul and Silas could not be silenced
from preaching at Phillippi. And when a miraculous occurrence happened when
they were imprisoned, God used it as a means of conversion for the jailer and
his family. And after their conversion the new Christians provided a meal for
Paul and Silas. Are we not meant to provide a “meal” of sorts for people every
day of our Christian lives – with the fruit and food of good works, kind words
and an optimistic atmosphere?

It is
better for you that I go to the Father, for when I go the Spirit will come to
you: and your lives will never be the same.

Monday, May 11, 2015

The
gospel passage is about the credibility of Jesus. Old
Testament legitimacy is always dependent upon at least two witnesses, two testimonies.
Jesus tells us today that regarding him and his mission and his work, in fact
his very identity as Son of God and Son of Man, there are at least two who
testify: the Holy Spirit soon to be sent from God: the Spirit of Truth, and on
an equal footing, the Apostles themselves (and all believers) – they too offer
testimony because of their own personal experience with Jesus – both really and
mystically!

Once validated and established
as who is really is, as one who has indeed come to change the world spiritually
into the Kingdom of God, then naturally there will be opposition, persecution
and most likely death for true believers. And this is an interesting quote from
the gospel (in the light of current political unrest in the Middle East) “the
hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to
God.” Anyone or any religion who purports such doctrine is seriously in error.
And consequences will be meted out by God himself to them.

It is up to us to be
strengthened by Jesus’ encouragement and reality as God’s own Son – sent, who
also sends, apostles and us – to do his will. The question today is: do you
accept the challenge to live the Christian faith as it truly is – even to the
point of self-sacrifice?

Sunday, May 10, 2015

It
may almost sound like a campaign kind of logic: Jesus
in the gospel passage could be observed to be building himself up when he says there is no greater love than to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends – and you can see I have done that, so am I
not wonderful? – will you not elect me to public office? Well, the truth of the
matter is that he is more than wonderful,
because he is not just “some man” who “laid down his life for his pals.” The
real story here is that he is the “God-Man,” who nevertheless laid down his
life in order to save his enemies
(not his friends). The whole reason Jesus came to us at all is because our
relationship of friendship with God was so shattered and so broken that it
could never be put back together again by anyone living on this planet. So he
came from “beyond the stars” to save us, forgive us our sins and throw open the
gates of heaven so we could enter and rejoice with him and all others who want
to be there – forever!

And so now, it is at this
point, because Jesus did what he came to do: prove his love by dying on the
Cross and rising again: that he can add just one more thing – to “seal the
deal”: he tells us how to retain his
salvific actions in our own histories and lives: remain in my love, remain in this friendship, love one another –
self-sacrificially – like I did do for you, and even if needs be, in some rare
cases to the point of death – you must do everything that I have commanded you to do out of love for me.

And
these things are not burdensome, there are not hundreds of commands written in
some lofty code as in the days of Moses: what I give you are the Beatitudes, I give you my sayings; I give you my parables; I give you my sermons. The message hidden in all these
manifestations is actually very simple: GOD
IS LOVE! That is what I came to tell you! And – since your baptism – you live in God – therefore you live in love – so keep that love alive –
experience the great dynamic energy that it engenders – and you will be
saturated in joy and peace and hope; and with St. Paul, you will be able to go
out and bring this message to all nations
– beginning with the people I place right around you.

It was an exciting
evangelistic undertaking that would be underway in a couple of weeks’ time with
the arrival of the Spirit on Pentecost – and arming his beloved apostles with
faith and love – the world would never be the same!

With gratitude in our hearts,
O Lord, we thank you for all you have done – in loving us so very, very much –
and we recommit ourselves today to surrendering
ourselves entirely to your will and care: you are God, you can never let us
go astray if we cling to you, adore you and glorify you with all our hearts!

Sing
joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.

Friday, May 8, 2015

We
are edging closer now to the feast of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven: and
before he leaves his apostles he wants to simply clarify his whole mission: before I came among you, you were slaves of
the Old Law, you were slaves of God – but I came to transform you into friends
– friends of mine, and friends of God. This is an enormous feat that could only
have been accomplished by my laying down my life for you. I LOVE YOU THAT MUCH
– that I would lay down my life for all of you – and not only of the Jewish
family, but the Gentiles as well.

And so: I cannot force you, but I can
invite you from the bottom of my Sacred Heart to accept that love and that
friendship that I offer freely to you: and you will do that by doing what I
command: which is simply to love, disinterestedly, with holy indifference, any
and all people I place in your life – and beyond even your own inner circle.

It is really an amazing thing
to be considered a friend of God – especially as it is the condition for the
possibility of making us true friends of one another – and we all know that we
need both these vertical and horizontal relationships.

Jesus has told us all about
his Father, which qualifies us for Divine Friendship with him; may we tell as
many we can today about both Jesus and his Father – so that the energy of
divine friendship will flow through our spiritual veins. It will be a joyful
experience!

I will give thanks to
you, Lord, among the people; I will chant your praise among the nations.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

It
is the human way to proceed slowly
and cautiously before any big changes take place! This
was also true of the “human element” of the newly inaugurated Divine Mystical
Body of Christ, the Church. Though infused with the Holy Spirit, the still
weakened and somewhat darkened intellectual part of the minds of many of the
early Christians, even Apostles and presbyters (priests) were a bit slow in
“piecing it all together” – especially as regards the transition from the Old
Testament to the New. The question in point today is the total acceptance of Gentiles as true and genuine coheirs with the
Jews to the merits of Jesus’ death and resurrection! So many in the early
months and years were less than enthusiastic about simply letting the Gentiles
in “scott-free”!

It is Peter today who speaks
to the gathering of Church members and he tells them that quite obviously the same Holy Spirit that rushed
upon them at Pentecost, has also fell upon these Gentiles in their midst:
it is because of the visible fruits thereof that came the proof: they proclaimed Jesus as Lord, called on God
as their Father – and yearned to be part of the table fellowship with the rest
of the Christian community. An additional question was whether or not they
had to be converted first to Judaism, if only briefly, before being converted
again to Christianity. Peter, James and many others of the Apostles agreed that
this was not necessary: what was necessary was that they “turned to”
“converted” to the Lord ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME!

The gospel passage tells us
that all who belong to the one Christian community – whether coming in from
Judaism, Gentilism or straight away from the world: have one thing in common:
they have a strong, deep and overriding desire to “keep the commandments of
Jesus, which are all about LOVE” – and Jesus and his Father will both come and reside and remain in such
persons – being the source of great joy both now and forever! Amen!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Our
readings today are about unity and community. Jesus
makes it very clear that a disciple of
his must remain entirely and wholly attached to him like a branch on a vine.A branch cannot live apart from the vine;
and even if it could, its fruit would be of a strange variety – being
dissociated from the species of which it is meant to be a part. And so, we must
remain in Christ so that our fruit is
godly fruit, our works are meritorious for our salvation, and our loving is
pure and self-sacrificial. There are many in this day and age who are
semi-rooted to the vine, or so they think; but the truth is either you are or
you aren’t connected to it: either you have the Christ-life flowing through
your spiritual veins or the world’s: and if it is the worlds’ then it can never
be entirely true, beautiful or just!

In
the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul
and Barnabas in order to stay rooted on
the vine – which is the Mystical Body
of Christ, the Church, as it was just beginning to take form in the world –
decide to go to Jerusalem to consult with
the apostles and presbyters there about the matter of circumcision of Gentile
converts. They did not simply act on their own, but wanted to find out – by
the working of the Holy Spirit – in consultation with the others who received
the same Spirit at their ordinations – what is to be held or not held in this
particular case in the day to day operations of the Church. This is how the
Church was set up on Pentecost – it would be guided and informed by the Spirit
– and this is how it still operates today. The community is protected, the
gathering of personally united persons is guaranteed freedom from error, when
acting collegially, and together with the Successor of Peter as their head.

And so today, we thank God for
joining us to him, for remaining with us and for joining us to one another in a
communion of holiness, fraternity and peace. For, we may always now together go to the house of the Lord, and give him thanks
and praise! Amen! Alleluia!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

In
the gospel passage today, after announcing his gift of peace to the
disciples Jesus reminds them that the peace he offers is not like that of the world; for worldly peace comes and goes being rooted
as it is in the fickle ruminations of the hearts of men. But the peace Jesus
gives is rooted in God, who is eternal, who is all powerful, and who can
consistently keep his promises. And the amazing promise that Jesus makes here on
the Father’s behalf, is that not only would there be a deep abiding peace for
those who commit themselves to him fully, but there would also be a place of peace in the kingdom to which
Jesus would escort each and every person he intended to be there. After making
this promise [this is taking place just before the agony in the garden] Jesus
says that the price to pay for all this is now fast approaching: it will appear that the ruler of this world
[i.e. the devil] will have his way, but
this never even was a possibility, although certain things have now to be
played out – things commanded by the Father; and Jesus says that he will
lovingly and freely do them, because he loves both the Father, and us for whom
he is doing these things.

St.
Paul tells all disciples everywhere and at every time – in
our reading from the Acts of the Apostles – that preaching the gospel and
proclaiming the kingdom in the world is a risky and dangerous business [as he
knew from first-hand experience] – but that it has to be done so that those who
are meant to hear the “good news” of Death and Resurrection of the Son of God – may hear it, come to believe and indeed
become part of the kingdom through baptism. Paul established so many
communities of believers in all of this, and the same faith has persisted and
has come down through the ages to us! And now our mouths speak the praises of the Lord and our flesh blesses his holy
name! Amen! Alleluia!

Monday, May 4, 2015

In
the gospel passage, Jesus tells the disciples that there are two
prerequisites for membership “on the vine” –
having the commandments of God, and observing them. Now for the “new people
of God,” the “commandments” shift from the Decalogue
(the Ten Commandments) to the single
law of Love: love one another as I have
loved you, as you have been loved first by God. But, of course, if you do
this loving of others fully and as prescribed, then you will also be doing the
Ten Commandments: because I have come not
to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.

And to ensure that you are in
tune with the new fullness of the Law, to ensure that you are pleasing to God,
to ensure that you are specially loved children of my Father – the Advocate, the Holy Spirit will be sent
by the Father, in my name – to teach you exactly how all these things came
to be and are – and he will remind you of
all that I told you.

And for us today, as we find
ourselves members in the assembly of those who believe in God, accept his
commandments and try to live them out in love – we will feel an unusually close
identity with Jesus, his Father and their Spirit – because they abide deep
inside of our souls, and we find ourselves doing great things for God, great but in an ordinary sort of way: just
as Paul and Barnabas simply spoke words, simply proclaimed Christ Crucified and
Risen. This ordinary proclamation, however produced the result of their being
considered “gods” by the Greeks, after accompanying the preaching with healing
of a cripple in Jesus’ name – but they were simply
as human as anyone else – imbued however, with the powers of belief.

May we always remember that the glory that comes from good deeds done
does not go to us, but rather to God!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

We
have encouraging and wonderful readings today. The
first reading tells of how the Church - through the working of the Holy Spirit
- was being built up and walking in the
fear of the Lord, with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, growing in numbers.
This, including the story of how, when Saul first arrives, ready to preach
boldly in the name of the Lord, everyone was afraid of him because he is the
very one who was just recently out to persecute and imprison newly baptized
Christians.

But it was Barnabas who took
charge of the situation and introduced Saul / soon to be Paul as one who is
actually on their side now! And it was a marvel for all to see the change in
this young upstart from Tarsus. Yes, when God has his way with someone, things
change, and for the better!

St. John in the second reading
today tells the community of believers that the genuineness of their Christian
commitment must be expressed in deeds and in truth and not just word or speech.
If we do not allow Jesus to live his life for others through us, then we can
talk about it all we want, and it will mean nothing, and nothing meaningful
will get done. We must practice what we preach.

Then the magnificent imagery
of the gospel passage shows us the degree to which we can and must be united to
Jesus in order to have a prosperous and abundant life, here and hereafter and
something to share with others: our communion must be like that of a vine and
branches. I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me: by daily
acts of belief and service to others, then you will experience my presence in a
powerful way, and you will be able to ask
me for anything and I will do it for you – because you are pleasing my
Father and bearing much fruit.

And so at this planting time
of the year, when new vines and growth are easily visible let us be reminded
how intimate our relationship with Jesus and his Father is meant to be, and in
fact can be, through the working of the Holy Spirit in us! A powerful force
indeed! – and it will affect not only our own lives, but the lives of those God
places in our path each and every day – through us!

Amen.

Secondary Homily:

I see the account of St. Paul
arriving among the first Christians of Jerusalem with much boldness and
enthusiasm. Actually the faithful Christians were at first afraid of him
because just weeks before he was among their chief persecutors and enemies. But
God had his way with Saul and rechanneled his energies for the good. And the
rest is history.

Forty years ago today another
young upstart was launched on the people of God – of this diocese – me, as I
was ordained a priest forever. God likewise channeled my energies, talents and
strengths – (though I never persecuted the people of God) – quite the contrary –
I always loved them dearly, and worked for their good, and for their salvation.
But I did have to learn to do it now God’s way rather than my own as did St.
Paul.

Thankfully, I tried to remain
on the branches as part of the root – which is what a priest is: so that the
life of Christ may flow through me to those he wanted to influence, touch and
become a part of. In my case, however, I was challenged with many natural born
obstacles that tried to interfere with my job – but I always kept returning to
my original love, my original task, my original mission: “to go after the lost
sheep of the people of God” – which seems to be where I ended up most of the
time: on the edges of priestly life, on the periphery, in places I would not
wanted to have gone otherwise. But I can honestly say that though the scope of
my ministry has been minimal – the quality of its effectiveness has been as
intense as it could ever have been otherwise.

I try to practice what I
preach – which is not always easy. And so on this special anniversary day, I
ask for prayers of all – and I ask God’s special blessings on all who have been
a part of my past – especially my parents, brothers, relatives and friends. You
have all touched me, and continue to affect what I do daily. I am grateful to
God that we are all part of the same vine which is Christ: may he nurture,
strengthen and increase our faith and good works until the last call. And may
we live forever in the kingdom prepared for us. Amen.

Friday, May 1, 2015

The
principal feast of St Joseph is celebrated on March 19, but this second feast of Joseph the Worker was inaugurated by
Pope Pius XII in 1955 to counteract a Communist holiday on May 1. The new feast
replaced that of the Patronage of St Joseph, later called the Solemnity of
Joseph (another secondary feast). The appropriateness of this new feast is
grounded in the fact that Joseph was a carpenter by trade, and trained his son
Jesus as a carpenter as well.

Joseph indeed was the
worker-carpenter at Nazareth who provided for the needs of Jesus and Mary; and
he initiated the Son of God into human work. Therefore, on the day when a
holiday in honor of workers is celebrated in many countries, Christian workers
venerate him as their exemplar and protector.

There is a God-given right to
work, coming from the command of God to Adam to subdue the earth and take care of it - how else could this be accomplished other
than by work. Therefore, the feeling of completion that one gets from work ought
not be denied or downplayed – it is very much a “sacred sweat”!

In our day and age, in the
circumstances in our own country, and in so many other countries of the world,
the rights and dignity of workers needs to be honored and protected – by
providing jobs in the first place for all who want them, and seeing to it that
they have safe work environments and policies set in place to ensure their
employment rights.

St. Joseph quietly and
faithfully trusted God to provide what he needed as a worker/provider – and
then he worked his whole life as a way to repay God for his trust in him to
accomplish certain specific tasks; may we embrace our God-given tasks and
assignments today – whether we are technically employed by an agency or not:
for we are always in God’s employ “subduing with love” “the earth and its
creatures” that he has given us to care for – all the days of our life!